Jolly Roger (Custom JS)
Description One of the great scourges of the Periphery is the pirates/raiders. The Taurian Concordat has long suffered from the Tortuga Dominions and the Pirates Haven Star cluster and the many pirates groups that nest within. The TDF came easily to the conculsion that keeping the scum off the planets surface was the best way to secure the safety of all citizens, but the problem was how to do that without a strong Naval/ASF force. In the early 3020's the High command got a chance to find out how; the SLDF cache on Celentaro finally allowed them to make full use of the Tripitz Affair datacores. These two singular information winfalls finally gave the Taurian Concordat the ability to create/activate Naval assets again. Among the first Lostech items the Concordat gained was Ferro-Aluminum and Ferro Fibrous armors and eventually Double Heat Sinks. Using both Lostech items to refurbish one of the two Taurian Star Lord class JumpShips created a Pirate hunter JS classified as Jolly Roger; the L'Ollnais. Jolly Roger was the third Naval project after the Warship restorations and the Mule to Donkey Q-Ship endevours. The JS project was accelerated due to both the raging Fourth Succession War and lower chance of the Concordat's tech gains being exposed. Although pressed by the Protector there was only so much that could be done while still remaining covert; no one wanted the Inner Sphere powers to view the Concordat as a priority threat. So instead of sending out the reactivated New Vandenberg to vaporize pirate bases from orbit, the L'Ollnais would defend a system when pirates jumped in. The refurbishment proved to be so successful that the second Taurian Star Lord was also converted and by 3034 the Henry Morgan patroled the Rimward arc of the Concordat. As part of the cash and technology trade with the Outworlds Alliance the Concordat offered to trade the engineering specifications to convert the Alliance's Star Lord for more ASF and pilot training in 3036. The Alliance gladly took up that offer and soon had the Bartholomew Roberts cruising their systems around Antallos. A fourth Star Lord was captured by the Alliance in 3053 and is undergoing conversion now. The Jolly Rogers have been very benificial to both nations not only by actively countering pirate raids but also as symbols of Periphery unity and growth. The steady flow of captured equipment and vessels also enrichs the two Periphery nations. But the finacial and techincal costs to maintain these JumpShips is extremely high; it is only their desperate need in the Alliance and the paranoia of Protector Thomas that keeps these ships weighing on their budgets. The Draconis Combine is very interested in aquirring the specifications as part of the burgeoning trade with the Outworlds Alliance. A mobile fighter base similar to the Clans Comitatus would aid the Dragon greatly against Ghost Bear raids. The Federated Commenwealth is simarly motivated to aquire the design, but their Naval fleet boasts several Warships and lacks the manufacturing capacity to sustain additional production lines at this time. Negotiations amid the thawing of realtions with the new Protector Jeffrey Calderon promise the possiblity of both Periphery nations contributing to the defense of the Inner Sphere in exhange for technologies and creation/rebuilding of manufacturies. Armament The Jolly Rogers are converted Star Lords and they lack the massive armoring of true Warships. But what could be done was done and the modifications have had all the old standard armor removed and nearly doubled with Ferro-Aluminum to provide far more protection. This has added over 5 meters addtional length to these JumpShips, further differenciating them from standard Star Lords. Three of the hardpoints were removed and replaced with 18 ASF bays and fire control runs for the substanial arsenal: * 6 LRM 20 (3 tons ammo each (18)) * 6 PPC * 12 Medium Laser (2 per facing) * 6 Small Laser Cargo The Jolly Rogers had to sacrifice the palatial crew and passenger quarters to accomidate the additional bulky armor. Cargo space was also lost in the conversion. But now these Jumpship can carry the expanded crew and marine detachments as well as steerage class berths for techs and rescuees. Several berths are set up as prisons for any pirates that would best be hung planetside or traded for Inner Sphere rewards. The marines consist of six platoons of Jump Infantry usally drawn from the Taurian who can use the NL-42 Battle Taxi's to board and capture raider DS and JS. Much of the old Star Lord's cargo spaces have been replaced with a Command and Control center and an extensive medical bay/trama ward. Barely 300 tons remains to hold food, water and supplies for patrols. Generally accompanied by a Leopard CV and a Union DS for combat, the third hardpoint is often reserved for a Donkey Q-Ship. But the make up of the DropShips traveling with a Jolly Roger depends on its actual mission; a space defense against oncomming raider DS/ASF forces is different than a raid on a planetside enclave and would have differnt DS needs. Combat History The first combat mission occured in 3028 as an unknown shattered Capellan force fled the contested space following the Fourth Succession War seeking supplies from the 'defenseless' Taurian world Aea. The L'Ollnais was holding station at the nadir jumpoint and was just too good a target to pass up. The Capellans were horrified when 18 ASF and 4 combat Small Craft vomited out of the L'Ollnais 's flight bays and tore open the two Union DS's and advanced on their Merchant JS to board. Unable to jump out, all vessels were captured and added to the Taurian Navy. In 3044 the Henry Morgan was tasked for a deep raid into the Pirate's Haven star cluster to root out the remaining forces of Paula Trevaline that had escaped the Davion raid of 3042. After many months of tracking IR trails and investigating star systems the Taurians finally located the pirate's new home on a volcanic water world. The Henry Morgan launched its Pontiac and Union DS toward the planet while deploying reconnaissance satellites and its Donkey Q-Ship at the zenith and nadir jump points as well as the pirate point nearest to the planet. The battle on the planet was short and bloody but the TDF troops won and even allowed some pirates the chance to see a gallows on Taurus. The ground forces remained on the surface collecting equipment and waiting for the remaining pirates to return to the system. The Henry Morgan caught the arrival of the pirate's Invader at the pirate point and launched a boarding mission screened by its ASF assets. The battle was longer both in durration and distance but the majority of the pirate force was destroyed, including the Invader as it tried to jump out and suffered a critical KF-Drive failure. One of the Taurian detachments was not able to fight clear before the drive failed and was lost, the other successfully captured a Condor DS. Variants Some lengthy discussions between the TDF and the Outworlds Alliance have led to proposing design changes to the flight decks/cargo areas to secure against flight mishaps and combat damage. Onboard fuel bunkage is expected to be enlarged as well. Replacing the older Kinslaughter PPCs with ER PPCs has begun with the L'Ollonais and the under construction Jack Rackham. The Henry Morgan and the Bartholomew Roberts are expected to undergo more extensive upgrades (Artemis IV FCS for the LRM 20's, Anti-Missile Systems instead of Small lasers) when they complete their current deployments. The most siginificant change looked at would be to add a lithium battery obtained from the Draconis Combine, but any such modifiction would be astondingly expensive and most likely impossible to engineer into an already compeleted Star Lord, but into a Star Lord newly under constuction.... References A Deeppockets Production/Imagination Category:JumpShipsCustom